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3 Phonics Lesson Plans for Little Ones

by Rebecca Desfosse on January 24, 2013

Rebecca Desfosse

About the Author

You can also find Rebecca Desfosse at her frugal-living blog, <a href="http://www.doggonethrifty.com/">Doggone Thrifty</a>. Married for three years and mother to a two-year-old boy, Rebecca understands how to raise a family on a budget and is eager to share her knowledge

About the Blog

WhatToExpect.com supports Word of Mom as a place to share stories and highlight the many perspectives and experiences of pregnancy and parenting. However, the opinions expressed in this section are those of individual writers and do not reflect the views of Heidi Murkoff of the What to Expect brand.

Everyone learns differently. Some people learn with visual cues, some learn by touching, and some learn best by listening. By tapping into these learning experiences in our wee ones, we help them to learn. For example, I know my son is more tactile. If he touches something, feels how it works and moves, then he's going to learn with it. His first word was "duck," and it wasn't because we saw a picture of a duck in a book or fed the ducks at the park. It was only when we gave him a duck bath toy that he said the word — after touching and feeling it each night. If you don't know which method works best for your child, give all these phonics lesson plans a try. They're fun learning activities that every tiny tyke will enjoy.

Tactile. If your child is tactile like my son, teach her how to speak with arts and crafts. Place a giant piece of construction paper or newspaper on a table. Spread shaving cream on the paper and have her draw a letter in the shaving cream. Talk about how it sounds and the words that start with that sound. Then, ask her to draw those pictures in the shaving cream. If you don't have shaving cream on hand, she can mold the letter into playdough and feel it while you talk about the sounds the word makes.

Visual. These little ones learn best by seeing. Cut pictures from magazines of objects that start with the letter you're teaching. For example, if you're teaching your kiddo the letter "H", cut out pictures of a house, horse, and heart, and have him glue the pictures to a piece of paper with an "H" on it. Your cutie will love to look at his work of art throughout the day.

Auditory. If your munchkin learns best by hearing, take her to the park and talk about what you're seeing — focusing on the letter. If you're teaching the letter "T", talk about trees, tables, and turtles. It's a good idea to match the object with what you're talking about, but even if you can't (say there aren't any turtles on your trip), she'll learn best by hearing you talk. So talk some more, mama!

What phonics lesson plans do you use for your own toddler? Share below in the comments section!